Former UNO standout Ervin Johnson never gave up on his dream

Former UNO standout Ervin Johnson never gave up on his dream

Former UNO standout Johnson never gave up on his dream

Editor’s note: This is the first story in a nine-part series on the 2013 inductees to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies will be held Saturday, June 29 in Natchitoches.

Unless your basketball team was competing against his, you might have found yourself cheering for Ervin Johnson. And no one would have blamed you.

What was not to like? Ervin Johnson was as unassuming and mild-mannered as Gomer Pyle, but he had the drive of Gen. George S. Patton — minus the vulgarity, of course.

Self-motivated, but never self-centered. From a-zillion-miles-off-the-radar in high school to an All-America player at the University of New Orleans to a 13-year career as an NBA center — and now to Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches as part of its 2013 class.

For Johnson, who’ll be part of a nine-person class, the journey to state legend status is one of the more unlikely in the Hall’s history. But it has a solid base.

“You could sum it up in one word,” Johnson said. “Faith. Belief in myself, belief in God. He had a plan for me. I was just following His lead.”

In a nutshell: Johnson quit his team in the 10th grade at Block High School in Jonesville — about a 100-mile drive from Natchitoches — grew eight inches after graduation to 6-foot-11 inches and worked in a Baton Rouge supermarket for 21/2 years before enrolling at UNO in January 1989.

He offered his services to Tim Floyd, then in his first season as UNO’s head coach, on the final night of the early signing period in Nov. 1988 after hearing of UNO’s need for depth and height. Floyd, whose first UNO team had no starter taller than 6-5, instantly awarded Johnson a scholarship and redshirted him.

Then Johnson climbed the heights, though it wasn’t easy. He bristled at Floyd’s suggestion in the spring of 1989 to transfer to a junior college — “At that point we just didn’t think Ervin was ready to play at the D-I level,” the coach said — then showed him. And wowed him.

Johnson wowed everybody.

By the time he finished his UNO career, Johnson had started for three conference-championship teams, played in two NCAA tournaments and set school career records for rebounds (1,287), field-goal accuracy (.591), blocked shots (294), games started (116) and minutes (3,694).

His 1,608 points ranked second in UNO history. He was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year as a senior on a team which was 18-0 in conference and 26-4 overall.

Though his ranking on UNO’s career scoring charts has changed, this fact hasn’t: He’s UNO’s only first-round NBA draft choice.

“Ervin Johnson is an example of a lot of things,” said Floyd, who also coached against Johnson for five seasons in the NBA. “He was a non-pampered athlete who was determined to change his life. He was a guy who was hungry, who was driven, who has high character.

“He’s counter to the way the American player is developed today. ... He is a testament to the ability to listen and to personal responsibility. He’s a kid who was hopeful and was willing to work and not give up on his dream.”

He was long on character. Floyd loves to point out that Johnson gave his employer two weeks notice before heading to UNO.

Johnson completed correspondence courses through the University of Washington to help him earn his UNO degree in December 1996 — and then was the commencement speaker. Shortly after turning pro, Johnson contributed a sizable amount of money to help UNO athletics upgrade its weight room.

“Ervin never forgot where he came from,” Floyd said.

Seattle drafted Johnson, and he played there for three seasons. He spent a year in Denver and averaged 7.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while starting all 82 games, but was traded for three players the following year to Milwaukee and spent seven of his final nine seasons there.

Johnson started more than half of his 845 NBA games with career averages of 4.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 20.1 minutes per game.

“He was a tough defender,” said New Orleans Pelicans coach Monty Williams, who played against Johnson while at Notre Dame and in the NBA. “He could finish around the basket. He played the game the right way. If you played in the league, you knew about him.”

More than seven years after the great guy with the great story retired from competition, Denver-area youngsters are cheering for Johnson. He’s part of the Nuggets’ team of alumni ambassadors, a community service group.

Johnson estimates he has spoken in 100 different schools and to 15,000 students, who hear of Johnson’s inspirational journey.

By the close of the 20th century, two people stood out with the biggest collections in the biographical files of the UNO sports information office.

One belonged to Ron Maestri, who laid the foundation of the Privateers’ nationally prominent baseball program and a 1995 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee. The other belonged to Johnson, whose foundation of faith helped him create an amazing built-from-scratch basketball career.

“Ervin Johnson came a long way and became a very good basketball player,” said Ed Daniels, the longtime sports director of WGNO-TV in New Orleans. “He’s a great guy. Can’t think of anyone better.”